q about roadcruising

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wayne_fidler
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Location: onslow co NC

q about roadcruising

Post by wayne_fidler »

I'm fairly new to the whole rd cruising thing but was wondering if it's good to cruise during rain storms our temps have been mid 90's and we haven't had a good rain in a lil while. any certain time? I can cruise in the spring and fall but this summer thing tricks me. thanks
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VAS
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by VAS »

Good question best wait for someone else to chime in but it seems like it would still be best at night with rain or not. Road cruising up in my neck of the woods seems to be a night time thing only no matter when.

Scott
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

You never know till you get out. Road cruising involves so much chance.

I would think a litte rain should help. When its actually raining I rarely see snakes but it should be good for amphibians.
Paul White
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Paul White »

Don't know about road cruisng but the day or two after rains aregreat in teh field for fnding snakess. not so much duing the rain thogh.
stlouisdude
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by stlouisdude »

One thing you can do is check not only the roads but also the bigger puddles next to the road. Sometimes those have small water snakes in them. I assume they are eating the frogs that come to lay eggs there. You might get some cool amphibians that don't spend much time on roads there, too.

I
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JakeScott
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by JakeScott »

During rain, no so good. Try just before or after a storm...the low pressure brings em out. Usually late afternoon is best...about an hour before dark and onward.

-Jake
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spinifer
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by spinifer »

When it is pouring rain it is not very good because it is difficult to see, and you cant take any pictures. Light rain is productive and manageable. Immediately after rain is best, but not if it is windy.
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wayne_fidler
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by wayne_fidler »

cool thx guys
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Dan Krull
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Dan Krull »

WIthout reading any of the comments from above....

As someone who has been lucky to do a lot of cruising in a lot of different places, AND who has heard about a zillion formulas for success, I must say that your success road cruising relative to conditions is very dependent on WHERE YOU ARE.

For example, popular wisdom states that if it rains in West Texas, you need to go somewhere else, because snakes don't crawl when it's wet. While in Kansas, a brisk summer rainstorm on a warm night can be a recipe for road cruising insanity!

Having spent zero time in NC, my suggestion would be this: CRUISE A LOT AND KEEP TRACK OF THE CONDITIONS AND WHAT YOU FIND. You could even go as far as keeping a journal. It sounds like a bit of work, but it can be an amazing tool. (I've also been called an amazing tool)


You will find that certain species move in certain conditions while others won't. For example: Right now, people here are finding a lot of lined snakes and brown snakes crawling around. We've had like 10 feet of rain in the last week. Just like their favorite prey, worms, these snakes are flushed from their burrows and out crawling about.

Something I have noticed about road cruising success almost everywhere I have been is the importance of change. If the temps and humidity are perfect for snake movement, and stay that way for weeks at a time, you might go out and not see a darn thing. Whereas, if you've had really overly hot temps and then a rainstorm blows in, that change triggers movement.

It works the other way too. Sometimes it needs to dry out before you'll see snake movement after a very wet period.

I think it is easy to image that any time temps are good snakes will move, but snakes crawl or don't crawl for many reasons. If they have everything they need. (water, food, shelter) They might stay where they are regardless of the temps.

The long and the short of it is, you need to go experiment a lot, and keep track of your findings. Over time, you'll be able to predict the best nights and cut down on gas spent searching.

AND the next time someone asks, you can be ready with real data based on your experimentation.

ABOVE ALL, be persistent and be OBSERVANT! You have to believe that you will find stuff, and you have to put in the effort. If you get bored and give up too soon, you will not be a successful road cruiser, AND if you aren't paying attention to the road, you'll miss the snakes you do come across. When you become attuned with the road and learn to spot details, you will be able to spot even the tiniest snakes from your car. Even a blackhead, burning across a West Texas road while you're flying by at 45 MPH.

SPEED is important too. DON'T GO TOO DAMN SLOW! You need to cover ground especially if you aren't seeing much. Don't go too fast either. 35 is a good cruising speed on a paved road. I generally don't go any slower than 25 or any faster than 45 when I'm actively road cruising. If you go 10, you'll be able to count the pebbles on the roadside, but you also will miss some snakes that you could have found, and you'll piss other herpers off and arouse law enforcement suspicions.

Just get out there and do it and you'll figure it out. You have to put in the time to get good at it.
Good luck!

DAN
TJP
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by TJP »

Wayne,
Since I'm a complete d!p$h!t and kept forgetting to call (before I lost your number when the site went down), I figured I'd let you know I'm gonna be about an hour or so away from you in 3 weeks or so......I've got 14 dipsaluscious days off from work for some quality herping time. If you wanna get out for some road cruising or hiking (you know how hot it's gonna be during the day, though), let me know. We can make the drive down to you or meet up in between.
TJP
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by TJP »

Okay, I was wrong....I'm gonna be about 3 hours from you. Regardless, let me know if you wanna get out.
Paul White
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Paul White »

Having spent zero time in NC, my suggestion would be this: CRUISE A LOT AND KEEP TRACK OF THE CONDITIONS AND WHAT YOU FIND. You could even go as far as keeping a journal. It sounds like a bit of work, but it can be an amazing tool. (I've also been called an amazing tool)
I do the same for field stuff, mostly with photos; take pics, lable at least rough time (10am-12noon for instance), date. Maybe make a note of weather conditions (I take a shot of the environment and record temps from weatherbug).
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tspuckler
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by tspuckler »

My experiences are in line with Jake's.
A low pressure system (low barometric pressure) is the key.
Usually this happens before it rains.

Tim
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Nick
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Nick »

As a general rule, snakes do not like to crawl on wet roads. That isn't to say they won't -- I've caught a fair number of snakes crossing while it was raining (Mostly cottonmouths and other aquatic snakes, but also rat snakes, copperheads, and scarlet kings) -- but rain is usually a sign that you should stay home.
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Tim Borski
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Tim Borski »

Get a small note pad. (I use a sturdy little pad of index cards.) Put the start date on front. Before each outing write: Date, projected high and low temps,Moonrise/Moonset.
While cruising, I make a mark for every snake encountered. If it is one of interest, I jot name, location and time. For instance, here in S FL, Mocs, Nerodia, Garters, Ribbons and the like would simply receive a tally mark. Most others (Corns, Kings, Scarlets, pigmies, Corals and such would get a name, time and location.
You will be absolutely astounded how quickly this simple data will become useful. I keep mine in the center council of my truck and always readily available. I've done this long enough now that I find myself jotting notes sometimes before I even realize I've picked up the pad.
During the day, while in the field, I jot everything down when back at vehicle BEFORE moving on to another area. Day entries often include simple drawn maps with landmarks and roads, property owners' names etc.

Sample page from current note pad.
Image
stlouisdude
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by stlouisdude »

I tried my hand at cruising tonight just to do something different. I picked a 4 mile section of road separating upland habitat from flooded marsh. I have seen a lot of DORs concentrated in this area, so I thought it might be a good place to patrol. Anyway, I went back and forth about 5 times and came up with one rat snake. I started a few minutes before complete darkness.

Image

I also drove around some areas with upland habitat on both sides, but found nothing there snake wise.
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Mark Brown
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Mark Brown »

Tim Borski wrote:You will be absolutely astounded how quickly this simple data will become useful.
Amen to that, and a few decades later, you'll also be astounded at how much you'll enjoy going back and reliving your old herping adventures through your field notes. I started keeping detailed notes in '76 and I'm sure glad I did - it's always a kick to read them and reminisce. Keep good notes - you'll be very glad you did.
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Tim Borski
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Tim Borski »

Mark Brown wrote:
Tim Borski wrote:You will be absolutely astounded how quickly this simple data will become useful.
Amen to that, and a few decades later, you'll also be astounded at how much you'll enjoy going back and reliving your old herping adventures through your field notes. I started keeping detailed notes in '76 and I'm sure glad I did - it's always a kick to read them and reminisce. Keep good notes - you'll be very glad you did.
Mark, it takes considerable less than "a few decades" to begin having fun reliving past encounters. My son frequently picks up my current pad and reads it (to himself) while we are driving . I'm always surprised when he says something like: "Wow! you flipped a "fill in blank" back in Nov? I of course had completely forgotten about a "noteworthy" event that may have happened only a couple months prior!
TAKE NOTES.
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Steve Atkins
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Steve Atkins »

has anyone notice a relationship between the phases of the moon and roadcruising at night?
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spinifer
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by spinifer »

I was out road cruising last night and it was just about a full moon. I didnt find squat.
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Tim Borski
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Re: q about roadcruising

Post by Tim Borski »

spinifer wrote:I was out road cruising last night and it was just about a full moon. I didnt find squat.
Your time would (probably) have been better spent picking a smallish piece of good habitat and searching on foot with a good light...especially if you had a particular target. Movement across open spaces is limited when moon is above horizon and becomes even moreso as it waxes.
Abandon your vehicle AFTER the "window" beginning 30 minutes after sunset and ending at full dark (when even the most optomistic critters can no longer ignore the fact, there's "a moon up there.") It's important to be covering ground during this period.
I found 3 quality snakes last night during this time frame and an additional 3 on foot afterward. When I quit at 10:50, I felt I had made the most of a night that (at least on paper) was total crap.
Tim
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